Decide Not, Not Not Decide

The older I get the miser I become. By which I mean that I more jealously guard the resource that I have and do my best to avoid spending it where I don’t want or need to.

Amongst my pet peeves (and I’ve collected a lot over the years) is the way in which unresolved upstream decision points can impact downstream. That’s not to say I think all choices have to be made instantly (although there is theory on efficient decision-making e.g. satisficing) but I do think that clarity is imperative.

When I’m waiting for a decision to license some further action on my part I don’t want to have to expend energy and resources keeping possible options – and their dependencies – open, keeping resource on hold ready for an always impending decision – and perhaps compromising my other missions – and remembering to look up periodically to see whether the decision has arrived.

When I’m waiting for a decision, I want the decision maker to be open about (a) what the chosen option is, or (b) that they aren’t going to decide yet and why and what would enable a decision, and when. That removes uncertainly and frustration, adds clarity and frees me to deploy resource elsewhere based on a shared understanding of the status. It also makes it possible for me to decide whether to expend some resource trying to enable the decision.